Higher costs are still hitting consumers at every turn. Skyrocketing grocery prices have been making headlines for years now, but it hasn't stopped there: Dollar Tree recently announced that it would be raising some of its prices to $7, while Walmart was just accused of "price gouging" Great Value products by a former government official. Now, Trader Joe's is the latest major retailer to make a significant mark-up—and it's the first of its kind in two decades.
RELATED: Walmart Shoppers Say Never Buy Great Value "Ever"—Here's Why.
Since 2001, Trader Joe's has been selling individual bananas to shoppers. These have been a compelling buy for customers who don't always need a whole pre-packaged bunch.
But the real selling point? The product's consistently low price tag. For over 20 years, Trader Joe's bananas have cost just 19 cents apiece.
That is, until now. According to Trader Joe's website, the price of its individually-sold bananas has been raised to 23 cents—an increase of nearly 20 percent.
A spokesperson for Trader Joe's confirmed the price change in a statement to Best Life.
"We recently changed the price of a single banana to 23 cents, which still represents a tremendous everyday value for bananas," they said. "We only change our prices when our costs change, and after holding our price for bananas at 19 cents each for more than two decades, we’ve now reached a point where this change is necessary."
The spokesperson also noted that the prices of several other Trader Joe's produce items have actually gone down recently. For example, romaine hearts and organic tri-color bell peppers are both down 50 cents to $2.99 and $4.49, respectively. The grocer's green onions are also now 99 cents, which is their "lowest price in at least a decade," according to the spokesperson.
RELATED: 6 Warnings to Shoppers From Ex-Trader Joe's Employees.
Bananas were recently named Trader Joe's top produce item, making the grocer's 2024 Product Hall of Fame list. At the time, the company indicated that one of the reasons its customers love the bananas so much is because of their "unbeatable price" of 19 cents.
But while it's too soon to say for certain, it doesn't seem like the recent price increase is going to turn any shoppers away.
In the comment section of a March 21 Reddit post on the subreddit r/inflation calling out the price change, many appeared to be unfazed by the new cost.
https://www.reddit.com/r/inflation/comments/1bkomob/it_happened_folks_trade_joes_increases_their/
"I always felt the bananas were unreasonably cheap though," one person commented.
Another responded similarly, saying, "Bananas are one of those commodities that have always been incredibly underpriced. I was surprised it held up for this long at all. Even during the COVID years."
Others claimed that the 23-cent price tag at Trader Joe's is still inexpensive when compared to other retailers. "Dollar General charges 40 cent a banana," one user replied.
Another wrote, "Dang that’s still cheaper than Target."
At the same time, some shoppers see this increase as just another sign of how record-high inflation has negatively impacted consumers and their finances over the last few years.
"How am I doing?? Financially?? Today at Trader Joe’s I saw that bananas are now 23 cents instead of 19 and I sighed," one person posted on X.
